Incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt has a strong record on constituent services and a strong focus on issues, rather than party. In fact, her votes during her three-term tenure have been all over the map — not a bad thing in a legislative body where many members vote strictly along party lines.

We support her for a fourth term to represent the reconfigured 98th Assembly District, formerly the 97th. The district shifts east, encompassing six Orange County towns, and sections of unincorporated Ramapo and the villages of Sloatsburg, Hillburn and Kaser. Rabbitt, a small business owner, is challenged by Democratic Monroe Town Council member Gerard McQuade, a union electrician.

Rabbitt knows the Rockland portion of the district well. She helped secure state help after a washout upstream poured contaminants into the Ramapo River, and worked with state and federal authorities to assist the oft-flooded residents of Suffern’s Lonergan Drive. Rabbitt supports a new state review of United Water’s controversial plan to tap the Hudson, and treat and desalinate the water for use by Rockland businesses and homes.

As a member of the minority party, Rabbitt can cast “protest” votes against imperfect legislation without risking its success. Although she has advocated for capping property taxes and curbing unfunded mandates, she voted against the 2 percent property tax cap and a new pension tier during “the big ugly,” last year’s last-minute, late-night jam-packed legislative session that many complained obscured the democratic process.

Rabbitt supported the Dignity for All Students Act that addresses cyberbullying, and backed the “Protection of People with Special Needs Act” that overhauls a dangerously faulty special-needs care system.

Rabbitt supports a “tweak” for the state’s Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law, which many say gives unions the upper hand in collective bargaining. McQuade said the assurances in Triborough are “fair for union people.” He believes the state’s focus should be on job creation; “you can’t tax-cut your way out of a recession,” he told the Editorial Board. Rockland ranks No. 5 nationally for property taxes paid and Orange makes the top 25.

Rabbitt’s hands-on help for district residents merits voters’ support on Nov. 6.